News

McDonald's and Hera Group, together for sustainability

On November 5, 2019, McDonald's and the Hera Group signed an agreement at Ecomondo, a reference event in Europe for technological and industrial innovation in circular economy, to reduce the quantity and improve the quality of sorted waste collection in the 30 McDonald’s restaurants located in areas served by the multi-utility.

The agreement, starting from 1 January 2020, aims to strengthen and monitor the sorted collection of glass, plastic, cans, paper and organic materials, in order to increase the overall recycling percentage. The project will last for two years and will involve 30 restaurants in 14 different municipalities, for an average of 45,000 McDonald's customers per day.

For this purpose, a new model of waste bin will be introduced, designed together with Hera, to help customers better separate what remains on their tray at the end of the meal, so as to limit errors in disposing leftovers and materials. Key for the project is also the awareness and engagement of customers, to which is dedicated a specific communication campaign that will always be carried out in McDonald’s restaurants.

October

26/10/2019

The commitment of Gruppo Hera in new plastic economy

In these days the questionis not whether a world without plastic pollution is possible, but what we will do to make it happen. In just one year, more than 400 businesses, governments, and other organizations have signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, lunched by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation and supported by the UN. Hera is among the ones who help create a circular economy, where plastic never becomes waste or pollution. Plastics are fundamental to our everyday life. Yet, with 8 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year, we urgently need to rethink the way we make, use, and reuse it. Catalysing change through collaboration in this global material flow will not only create a more effective plastics system but will also demonstrate the potential for a wider shift from a linear to a circular economy, in which plastics never become waste.

The announcement of the Global Commitment Progress Report being published was made in the pages of Financial Times Weekend edition, on the 26th of October 2019.

Published the new edition of "In Good Water", the sustainability report dedicated to water quality

The report “In Good Water” provides precise guarantees on the quality of the water managed by Hera which, being tested 3,000 times per day, is 99.9% compliant with the parameters set by the Italian law.

Moreover, for the benefit of the most attentive consumers, the report offers the possibility of checking the water label, with details - area by area - of the main reference parameters, from the testing of which emerges a quality comparable to that of bottled mineral water. The water label is updated every 6 months for each municipality served and test results are sent to citizens together with the period bill.

A particular focus is on the commitment that Hera dedicates to circular and regenerative economy, also in the sector of integrated water service.

As at 2022, for example, the multi-utility aims to reduce its water consumption by 10%, a measure of 134 thousand cubic meters, equivalent to the consumption of a thousand families.

Also relevant the reuse of the water purified in the wastewater plant of Bologna (about 500 thousand cubic meters of water); the project will be followed by similar ones in Bologna, Modena and Forlì-Cesena.

Beside these operations, water management activities were launched to identify water-saving interventions within and outside the company.

With this report, the Group confirms its commitment to transparency and accessibility of the service, which also includes the Acquologo, a free app on Hera's water service, and a dedicated web page on the company website.

September

10/09/2019

Stefano Venier, CEO of Hera, at the European Forum 2019 held in Alpbach

On 26 August 2019, Hera CEO Stefano Venier made a speech on “how to turn a traditional utility company into a circular-economy frontrunner” at the European Forum Alpbach, the interdisciplinary platform for science, politics, business and culture held every year in the Austrian Alps.

Established in 1945, the annual European Forum Alpbach addresses the relevant socio-political questions of the present time, not only to analyze current developments, causes and driving forces, but also to deliver new perspectives and orientations.

In this scenario the Hera CEO presented the activity carried out by the Group and, inspired by the circular economy principles, aimed to create shared value. Venier stressed out the importance of conjugating projects with people engagement, so that the best technology can be underpinned by people behavior. Not only district heating, smart cities, energy efficiency and environmentally-friendly services, in order to balance the technical aspects of this change with human requirements, a deep dialogue, constant educational and communication activities and punctual reporting are needed.

July

19/07/2019

Hera once again focused on energy efficiency to fight emissions

Since 2007 Hera has carried out 635 projects (of which 109 concluded in 2018), with 1.7 million tons of CO2 avoided, equal to the consumption of 625 thousand families.

These projects – presented in the new edition of the Multi-utility's report “Value for Energy”, available online and at customer shops - do not only concern Hera plant production and activities, but also local companies and public administrations. A central role is played by the families, with a “free market” contract, which are supplied with 100% of energy from renewable sources and provided with a full set of practical and intelligent tools to monitor and limit their consumption.In addition to that, the commitment of the Group is to reduce its consumption, with the target of dropping it by a -6% as at 2022.

The results shown in the report are the outcome of the Hera strategy, increasingly committed to developing an inclusive business model aimed at creating shared value for the stakeholders, the environment and the future generations.

Hera is the Italian multi-utility that improves every day, with regard to the environment, the quality of its waste management, water and energy services through strong links in the area in which it operates and the capacity for innovation